The Strongest Emotion
by sasoriza92
Summary: Max and Fang get in a fight, and Max flies off to think. What will Max take from what the voice tells her? Four chapters coming soon! Fax by the end. Complete.
1. Fight or Flight

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride.**

**Warning: The rating for this story as a whole is T, but there are parts in this chapter that have vulgar language. It is not reccomended that people under the age of 13 read this.**

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I slammed the door behind me and threw myself onto my bed. "Just leave me alone!" I shouted through the walls, knowing he would hear me. The tears were clawing at my eyes, and then they just started rolling down my cheeks in a disorderly way. As much as I tried to stop them, they kept coming and coming, like a steady stream over my face.

Outside my room, I imagined Fang― eyes narrowed, sulking on the couch, arms crossed, feet propped up on the coffee table. We had gotten into a fight again, and it had been bad this time. Really bad. I didn't want to think about it, but my mind already started replaying the whole scene.

_"Go to bed!" I shouted at the younger kids. They ran, wide-eyed, to their rooms. I turned to Iggy, and I glared at him, not that it would do much good._

_Yet, he could sense my tension, hear my anger. "You don't have to tell me," he said, standing up. "I'm already gone." With that, he left the room, leaving me alone with_ him

_He sat there on the couch calmly, his arms folded across his chest. "You didn't have to yell at them, you know," he mumbled half-heartedly._

_"Who asked you?" I spat back. He shrugged, crossed his ankles over the small coffee table, and looked away. "This is _your_ fault, you know that, right?" __He didn't look, didn't move. So I kept going. __"You just _had_ to go public. You just _had_ to blog about all of this. You just _had_ to be the center of attention."_

_Now he stirred, but only the slightest bit. It wasn't nearly enough for me._

_I stood in front of him, hands stiffly placed on my hips, my eyes flaming with anger and distaste. "And now we're under _government surveillance_," I said, accenting the words. "We're not allowed out of the house. We can't go anywhere without the feds up our alley. This is all your fault."_

_He shifted toward me, and I could finally see the fire in his dark eyes, though not clearly. This was making him furious, but he concealed it so well. "And the blame goes just to me?" he asked, his voice dripping with ice. "If I remember right, you were the one who went and got shot. Then to make it better, you went and asked that _woman_ for help and her petty daughter."_

_"Leave Ella out of this," I snapped back. "Who was the one who wanted to go to a football game? Who was the one who got us caught on camera for the second time and made us national news?"_

_His feet were planted firmly on the ground now, getting ready to stand if necessary. "Are you blaming this on Gazzy too now? Because that's why we were in the New York paper."_

_"No," I shrieked, and I threw my hands in the air in frustration. "I'm blaming this on you and you only."_

_"Oh, just me?" he said. His voice was hard now. He sounded cold, mean, nasty. No one was scarier when he was like this, but I couldn't dwell on that now. "And you didn't have anything to do with this?"_

_"And what did I do wrong?" I shot back. "Oh, don't mind me, I'm just trying to save our world from being turned into a utopia slave camp. God forbid I save us all from that horrible future."_

_His eyes narrowed, and he stood. He was a good four inches taller than I was, so we couldn't really see eye to eye, but that wasn't important. "I told you that you didn't have to do it! We could have walked away, let them destroy the planet. Who cares so long as we're still alive."_

_"Okay, fine, let's step aside, the apocalypse has happened and now what? We live off of dead radiation-filled grasses? I don't think so." Hadn't we already had this conversation? "Besides, half of the population will be gone, and what would you do? Your precious blog would be emptier than your damn head. No more worldly attention for you, and heaven knows that you'd probably die without your beloved blog readers patting you on the back."_

_"Don't get me started on attention, priss," he seethed. "I'd die without the attention? Ha, you'd probably go to hell and back four times over if you weren't in the center ring of this circus." He pointed a finger at me._

_I glared at him, my mouth open for a brief moment in surprise. He did _not_ just do that to me. _

_He laughed dryly, and I deepened my frown. "Yeah, right. You only feed off it, you self-centered bitch. You're an attention whore, and you know it."_

_All of a sudden, he grabbed my wrists and shoved me down onto the couch. He sat on top of me and held my arms cruelly on my chest at an uncomfortable angle._

_"Get off of me, you bastard!" I hissed._

_"See? Insults are your fallback. If everyone else knew what a flimsy leader you were, huh, you wouldn't be much a leader anymore, would you? You'd be lower than a pack scapegoat."_

_I glowered at him, and dug my nails into his wrist until the skin broke enough for the red tint to start to become more vibrant. He roared in anger and pain, and he threw me to the ground. For the first time, I saw his face clearly. His jaw was incredibly tight. His eyes were blazing with rage. His body was tense, and his hair was wild and untamed. He looked terrifying. At that moment, I feared for my safety._

_"You're such a horrible person. You don't see what you're doing. You think about yourself too much and not enough about the rest of us, about them," he raged on. "You said that you cared about us_―_ that you loved the flock, and you'd give anything for us. Well, what have you given? Your exceptional leadership skills and your sturdy emotions? Ha, yeah, right. You're an emotional roller coaster, a hazard. No wonder the School wanted us killed. With you as our leader, god knows how much better the lower ones are."_

_Then, like magic, I wasn't mad or scared any more. I didn't know what I felt. It was just there, this empty emotion. He was right. I was a wreck, a screw up, and an emotional hazard. A tear ran down the side of my face._

_I stood up from the ground weakly. "Thanks," I mumbled, trying not to let my voice crack. "Thanks for reminding me why I should be dead." Before he could say anything, I turned and ran to my room with my hands over my face._

So, here I was, alone, sobbing in my room, face shoved deep into the pillow. His words cut me deep, like I was the one bleeding. I picked my head up just enough to see my reflection in the mirror. My hair was knotted and sticking to my forehead and my cheeks were tear-stained. I looked like the mess I was, like he said. A vision of shards of glass appeared in my mind, and at that point, it looked like a good escape. But the idea of spilling my own blood over my sheets was too strong.

I began to sob harder as I opened the lock on my window and stepped out. Who really cared if they caught me, the federal agents who were assigned to watch our every movement? If they shot me now, I'd be dead in less than a heartbeat. It'd be an easy escape, but would I rest in hell for an eternity like he had said just minutes ago? Before I could question it, I jumped off of the roof and opened my wings, silently soaring through the night sky.

I didn't know where I was going, but wherever it was it had to be better than the house. After flying for at least an hour, I landed on the top of a city skyscraper. Then, I allowed the tears to come out willingly.

"Oh, god, Fang!" I shouted with a sob choking in my throat. I punched the brickwork repeatedly until my knuckles were battered and bleeding. After that, I slid against the wall and let the tears fall and sting my wounds.

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Well, this was a bit different for me. I don't remember where I got this idea, but hey, it's an idea. If I just left it at this, I'd probably get mobbed or something (lol). Don't worry, though, there's one or two more chapters to this. Think of it as a three-shot or a two-shot. I'll probably post the other chapter(s) within the next day or so, time permitting.

And no, I'm not trying to avoid Code Name Alpha, Midnight Morning, or the Here's the Number one-shot series. My laptop broke before Spring Break, so I couldn't type anything. But I did write a lot. That's the plus. I'll do my best to catch up, 'cause I know I've been slacking a lot lately.

Keep readin' and review!

- Saz


	2. Regret If You Don't

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride.**

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Fang was breathing heavily. His brows furrowed as he glared at Max. He stood above her vulnerable body lying on the floor. Just seconds before, she looked like she was about to kill him, but now, the anger was gone from her expression. Her eyes were empty, like a void emotion. That was when Fang saw a stray tear trickle down her face.

Max stood up weakly, as if the life had been drained from her body. "Thanks," she mumbled, and Fang could tell that her voice strained. "Thanks for reminding me why I should be dead." Then she ran, face in her hands, to her room. Fang stood there, his breathing still staggered, but something felt different.

_What just happened?_ he thought. One minute, Max was yelling at the kids to go to bed and he was sitting quietly on the couch. The next minute, he and Max were at each other's throats. They rarely fought, but when they did it always ended badly. This time was no exception, but it seemed worse than usual.

Bits and pieces of the fight replayed in his mind. Fang groaned and smacked his forehead. He felt like clawing his eyes out, and began to swear. "What did I do?" he cried. "My god, it was Max! How could I have been so stupid?"

"Did you and Max get into another fight, Fang?"

Fang spun around in horror to see Angel at the bottom of the stairs. She was looking in between the railing posts. Her blond curls were lightly spread across her shoulders, and in her right hand she tightly clutched a blanket. Angel could read Fang almost as well as Max, and that was when she wasn't using her powers. There was no point in lying to her.

"Yeah," he said quietly and looked down.

Angel hopped off of the steps and went to sit down softly on the couch. Fang collapsed on the sofa across from her. He rested his arm over his face, like if he shielded himself there wouldn't be any shame.

"You can tell me, Fang," Angel whispered. Fang uncovered an eye and peeked over at the little girl. "You need to tell me," she corrected herself. "You have to, or else it wouldn't be right."

Fang sat more upright, though, still slouching. "Why?" he asked.

"Because," Angel said in a matter of fact way, "if you don't it will haunt you tomorrow or until you face the problem."

_When did she become a psychologist?_ Fang wondered. Her smile and soft laughter made Fang grin, which calmed him down. He could trust Angel. She could help him. Maybe, if he told her about it, things would get better. Fang sat next to Angel and lifted her onto his lap.

"Okay," he said, "but you have to promise me one thing." Fang waited until Angel nodded before he stated his condition. "Please, keep this conversation between you and me."

Angel nodded her head again. "That's okay, but you'll have to tell Max eventually." Fang smiled the slightest bit, as he slowly began to tell Angel what had just happened just minutes before.

"Whoa," Angel gasped quietly after Fang had finished telling her about the fight. "That sounds like it hurt both of you a lot." Fang closed his eyes and shook his head in solemn agreement.

"I hurt her more than anything," he murmured. "I'm such an idiot!"

"No, Fang, don't blame yourself," Angel whimpered. "Just tell her that you're sorry. She needs to hear you say that."

Fang ran a hand through his dark, over long hair. "Yeah, but it's not that easy, Angel. What if she's still mad or I just make it worse?"

"But what if you make it better?" she countered back. "Fang, you can't just think about could not happen. Think about what will happen. She needs someone to lean on sometimes, and that's what you are. Max really needs you."

Angel watched Fang silently take everything in. She closed her eyes and thought. What more could she say to help him? There had to be something. "You should tell her," Angel finally said.

"I should tell her what?" Fang asked.

She smiled. Fang would never admit to anything personal aloud, but if he wanted to make it up to Max, he'd have to. "You know," she teased, "tell her that you love her."

Fang cringed and tightened his fist at his side. "Angel, I . . ."

Angel frowned. "Fang, you need to tell her. If you don't, you'll regret it."

"But how do I tell her!" Fang cried in a hushed tone.

Angel shrugged and hopped off of his lap. She started to walk over to the stairs, her blanket trailing on the ground behind her. Just as she was about to take the second step, she turned around. "I can't help you with that, Fang," she told him. "You'll figure it out. You need to do this on your own now."

Fang watched her until she had taken the winding stairs out of view. He groaned and lay down with his arm over his eyes. How was supposed to do this? Not only would it be out of character for him, but how would Max take it? He shuddered at the thought.

The memories reeled through his mind like an old film. Max kissing him on the beach when she thought he was dying, that was the first one. Max sitting on her bed at Anne's wearing nothing but a towel, scared and confused, and he told her it would be alright, kissed her forehead, and left. Max kissing Sam on Anne's front porch― Fang bit the inside of his cheek and thought bitterly of the regular person. But hadn't he done the same thing to Max by kissing Lissa? Nothing seemed to make much sense.

He shifted on the couch uncomfortably and remembered kissing Max in the cave in Arizona. Fang couldn't believe that he had done it and she went along with it, but she did run away from him in the end. Then, when she was having the chip in her arm taken out, Max said that she loved him. Fang's heart had fluttered. Leaving Max and taking half the flock had been the biggest mistake of his life, but when they finally got everyone back together and she was there in his arms, everything seemed to go right.

"I'm going to do it," Fang said confidently. He stood up and walked silently down the hall to Max's room. When no one answered when he knocked on the door, he walked in, but Max wasn't in there. Panic began to set in, and then he saw her open window. Fang took a deep breath and pushed himself out of the window, slowly unfurling his ink black wings.

Back inside the house, Angel watched Fang take off from her room. She wanted to send him some sort of clue to where Max had flown off too, but would that be cheating? Fang had to do this on his own, but even the strongest people need a little push in the right direction. Finally, Angel closed her eyes, concentrating on Fang, and sent him a tiny image of where Max was.

_Thank you_, she heard him think. Angel smiled, knowing she did the right thing. She pulled the covers over her shoulders and tucked Celeste under her arm, smiling as she finally drifted off to sleep.

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**Ha ha! I posted two chapters today! Okay, since I have no idea what I'm going talk about...I'll just talk about the story some more! Yay!**

**Uh...I still don't know what more to say...Well, I've gotten 3 reviews within the first few hours of posting the first chapter! Whoo! And some more stats, 41 hits, 2 favs, and 2 alerts. All in a couple hours! So thank you! So...I might as well reply to my reviews since I have nothing else to talk about!**

**barigirl1- Awww. Thank you so so so much! I think that the best stories have the potential to draw a tear or two. Writers need to play with their words to get an emotional response from the reader. I try my best to do that, and I've had my fair share of emotional reactions from some really amazing stories.**

**EVIL-max- Short, sweet, and straight to the point. I like it. lol. Like I said, emotion is important. You have to take the sad with the happy, the hurt with the comfort, the cruel with the pleasure. By combining the senses, emotions, and the right words, any author can have a strong effect on their readers.**

**Laura.S-x- Yeah, I know Fang was a bit out of character, but sometimes that's the best way to portray the character in order to push the plot forward. I hate making characters act like they wouldn't in the book, but it is necessary sometimes. And if the author does it the right way so it's believable, it makes all the difference.**

**So, with that said and done...**

**Read, review, and make it all better!**

**- Saz**

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	3. Hate and Love

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride.**

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My knuckles still stung some time later. Note to self: don't punch concrete bricks or walls without some hand sanitizer present. Still, the physical pain hurt a heck of a lot less than the mental pain I was going through. Fang, Fang, Fang. His name echoed in my head like a broken record. I hated it when we fought and hated it even more when it ended with physical and/or emotional pain. There wasn't a cell in my body that wanted to think about him right now.

But, god, Fang.

Sure, he's pretty quiet. Okay, he's pretty much silent most of the time, and he's so anti-social. And closed in, or closed off, which ever you prefer. And gosh, when he was angry, rabid bears looked like softies. The exception: when he was flying for the joy of flying, or when he was reading to Angel and Gazzy, or even when he was describing something to Iggy. I've even caught him looking at me− his eyes clouded over with serenity.

_No_, I scolded myself, _you're mad at him. Completely and totally, horribly mad at him._

_Are you sure about that, Max?_

I banged my head against the brick work behind me and cursed. Why did the Voice always have to come in at times like these? When I just wanted to be alone, it wanted to talk. When I needed help, it was dead quiet.

_Yes_, I said in my most controlled agitated voice I could manage, _I'm positive. I really do hate Fang. I hate him almost as much as I dislike your lame consistency._

_You know_, the Voice said in a matter of fact sort of way, _hate is a very passionate emotion._

. . . And? I felt like taking a plunger to my head. Maybe that would get the Voice out! Ha, I half expected it to say something, like, "That's not very practical," or something like that.

_Max, you're avoiding this topic_, it said.

_Uh, no freakin' duh! _I thought, rolling my eyes.

If the voice could have made that tsk-ing sound that parents make at their children, I'm sure it would be right now.

_You say that you hate Fang, but do you really hate him? I don't think you do. In fact, I know for sure that you don't,_ the Voice told me.

At that point, I felt like we were running in circles. _What part of_ I hate Fang_ do you not get?_

_What part of_ I know you don't _do you not get, Max?_

Touché, the Voice had me there. Oh well, I might as well listen to it, seeing as it's not leaving any time soon. But seriously, if it does decide to leave, it better leave my head the way it first was.

_You know what passion is, right, Max?_ it asked me. I nodded my head, hoping it understood. _Good_, it said, _clearly getting my message, then you know what a passionate emotion, such as hate, is. You should also know what another prime example of a passionate emotion is._

_Hate? Anger? Vengeance? Resentment? There's a few for you,_ I rambled.

_Well, yes, but I'm talking about a stronger, more pure type of emotion._ It paused, probably waiting for me to say something in response to his comment, but nope. I was silent, didn't say a word. How's that for self control? _Love, Max, I'm talking about love. You claim that you hate Fang so much, but are you confusing your hate toward him as love?_

I groaned. _Isn't it kind of hard to mix up love and hate? They're, like, opposites._

_Opposites, yes, but entirely different, there's no doubt they aren't. You're hate for Fang is fueled by your love for him, and vice versa. The reason that you get so angry with him so easily sometimes is because you love him. You expect certain things from him, and when he does something unlike normal, it throws you off, making you upset. Read these famous quotes, Max._

I braced myself for a brain attack, ready for the pictures to come. When my head didn't hurt, I got curious and opened my eyes. Nothing. _Okay_, I thought, _where is it?_

_Close your eyes and focus on listening to me, Max._

Well, that'll simplify things. I closed my eyes, doing my best to concentrate on the Voice. The images started off blurry, but the more I tried, the clearer they became. Soon, I was able to read them.

_If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn't part of ourselves doesn't disturb us._ Hermann Hesse

_To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead._ Bertrand Russell

_There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness._ Friedrich Nietzsche.

_One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love._ Sophocles

_I hate, and yet I must love the thing I hate._ Ovid

_There's nothing in this world so sweet as love. And next to the sweetest thing is hate._ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

_The opposite of love is not hate; it's indifference._ Elie Wiesel

The flashes of words ended, and my eyes slowly opened. Now I was confused more than ever. What is hate? What is love? Why is this all so hard to understand?

_You are only human, Max. It's okay to not understand things sometimes. That is what makes us all human, even if you're partially avian._

"But I still don't get it!" I cried out loud. "How are love and hate the same and different?" I put my head on my knees and wrapped my arms around myself.

For a while, the voice was silent and didn't say anything to me. Instead, it began to recite a poem, a poem I'd have to decipher on my own.

_Love is supposed to be blind,  
but how can one see the light it will feed?  
Hate is supposed to be dark,  
but how can one tell if it's too dark to see?  
To love one and to hate one,  
Is nothing less than rivalries of passion  
Is nothing more than raw emotion,  
A frail, but strong string of the purest satin.  
If I truly do hate him so much,  
With a passion, that I love, so strong,  
How can I see, know what to do?  
I have done not a thing wrong.  
So, do I love the way I hate him, or  
hate the way I don't love him more?_

"What's all that supposed to mean?" I asked myself. "The whole thing is, like, a contradiction of itself. It doesn't make any sense!" I heard some scuff somewhere around the corner. More than likely, it was a bird, so I ignored it.

_That's for you to find out, Max. Interpret it to the way you think it goes._

"Oh, well, thanks a lot," I said sarcastically.

_It's time for me to leave, Max._

"No, wait, help!" I silently cried to the Voice. "You need to help me."

The Voice chuckled. It can do that, right? _Like I said, I've helped you along, but now it's your turn to finish what I started._

I firmly placed my palms on the ground and groaned. "I don't want to! Love him, hate him, blah, blah, blah. Just give me some answers!" I said, getting frustrated.

_You need to figure that out on your own, Max._ It paused. _Actually, you may get a little help._

"So, you're going to help me?" I asked frantically. No response. "Hello? Are you still there?" Nada. "Ugh, why'd you leave, damnit?"

It was completely silent now. I heard the scuffing again, but I didn't pay any attention to it. Well, I didn't until the scuffing stopped− right next to me. Ooh, creepy, right?

"Max?"

Oh no.

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**Ooh! Evil me leave you off with that. Mwuhahaha! -cough- erm...Really sorry about not posting this way sooner. It's been kind of crazy 'round here. I'm in the process of buying a new clarinet, planning a party, playing Rock Bank (which totally ROCKS!), and keeping up with school. So, again, way sorry for not posting this.**

**Well, I discovered that I would be able to finish this in 3 chapters...so I'll just have to give you four. Gosh, how bad of me. lol. Okay, so, here's some review replies for ya!**

**Laura.S-x: Actually, I haven't mentioned how old they were. Oops. I usually don't unless it's a key part in the story, which it usually isn't for me. But, eh, I would think that they weren't any older than 18. I'm judging this by the fact that Angel is carrying around a blanket, and I don't think most kids over age 10 carry blankets around with them the way I pictured Angel doing. Same thing with tucking Celeste in with her. So, optimum Fang/Max age is probably around 16 to 18.**

**Scarlytt: -holds up hands- I'll keep writing, but please, don't shoot me! If you do, then the story will never be finished 'cuase I'll be dead. xD**

**Makmay04: I know...he's really rude in that first chapter, but don't worry, it gets better. He gets better...much better. ;D**

**Oh, and one more thing...please,please,please,please go to my blog! Well, it's actually Alpha's blog (my character), but it's all in the same. There's a link on my profile page. My Homepage link will take you there. Please comment on something. Pictures, blogs, anything. Just some traffic would be nice. I know, I know, I need to post more about Alpha first, but it's coming, I promise! It'd mean a lot to me!**

**Thank ya's!**

**- Saz**


	4. The Strongest Emotion

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride.**

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Remember when I said I thought that scuffing was probably a bird? Eh, well, I was partially right, two percent right. Get where I'm going here?

"Max?" he said again. His voice was soft, cautious, like if he spoke too loud he'd spook me.

"What?" I responded flatly.

Fang blinked slowly, and I saw some of the nervousness idle away. "Are you okay?"

I wiped the back of my hand across my face, leaving specks of dried blood on my cheeks and hands. "Do I look alright to you?"

He looked down briefly, but then looked at me again. As I glared at him, he found it necessary to sit next to me, which I was totally against. I don't care what the Voice said. I'm still mad at him. Fang lowered himself to the ground next to me very gradually. For a while, I just watched him sit there, being all quiet and staring off into the night. Times like these, I wish I could read minds, because I wanted so bad to know what he was thinking.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, catching me off guard.

"W― what?" I gasped. Fang rarely apologized, and if he ever did, he never did it so abruptly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he looked down to me. "I said," he quietly repeated, "I'm sorry."

I was about to ask him if he was joking, but I could tell that he meant it. The way he spoke, the way his eyes looked, and the way his body was relaxed, I could tell he was sincere.

"That's great, Fang," I said, "but it still doesn't take anything back." No, dang it, I want to be mad for a while! Stop trying to make it up to me!

"Max," he whispered, saying my name too sweetly.

Ugh, I should not be noticing these things. I shouldn't be enjoying the way he said my name just then. Why does he do this to me?

He gently laid his hand over mine, and even though his hand was hard and rough from years of fighting, there was softness to his touch. I stared at him, my eyes widened in horror, but he held my gaze with dignity. His dark eyes were cautious, yet curious. They seemed to shine, even in the dark. When he got that look in his eyes, there were no more worries. Fang smiled when the frown left my face, and my heart skipped a beat.

"Were you talking to the Voice again?" he asked suddenly.

I blinked a few times. "Uh, yeah," I told him, a little surprised by the sudden question. He looked at me, silently urging me to explain. "We were talking about . . . emotion and stuff," I caved.

His eyebrows came together into a weak frown. "Max, I've been here a lot longer than you think," he said strongly. "I have some idea on what you were talking about. Don't beat around the bush. Just tell me."

My bottom lip trembled. I felt like I was going to cry, but I didn't want to, especially in front of him. "I― I'm not telling you anything," I said, hating the way my voice cracked.

Fang's lips curved up into a quick grin. I knew what that look meant too. He was going to press as many buttons it took to get me to speak, but I wouldn't give in, no way. "You'll tell me," he lulled. His voice was alluring and, dare I say it, attractive. He softly touched the side of my face. His fingers feathered against my cheek, and I shivered.

"What makes you think that?" I tried to say coldly, but failed miserably.

He smiled gently, and his expression was incredibly soft. "Because," he began coolly, "you want to tell me. Deep down, you know you do, and you know that I will listen to you." Fang loosely held my chin with his fingers, making me look directly at him.

"If you're about to kiss me," I warned him, once again, failing to do it right.

"No," he said in a near whisper. His hand slid down onto my neck, and my heart began to beat faster. "You don't want me to, not yet, not now.

"Oh, well, thanks for respecting my feelings," I mumbled gruffly.

His coy smile told me that there was more to it, and oh god, was there more to it. "That doesn't mean I'm not going to try other things to get you to talk," he lulled in a soft, musical voice. Fang began to soothingly rub the space in between my wings. I closed my eyes, taking in every second.

"I really am sorry for what happened back at home," he whispered into my ear tenderly. I shivered as his breath licked the side of my face. "And I really wish you would tell me what was wrong, Max. I want to help you. That's what I'm here for, not just now, but all the time. I'm here for you to lean on. You can tell me anything." He stopped rubbing my back, and once again, started trailing his fingers down my neckline. "I love listening to you speak," he said so quietly I had to strain to hear him.

"I hate you," I muttered, though my voice was unsure.

"No you don't," he breathed. I turned to face him, my eyes wide with insecurity. "You don't hate me, Max," he said again. "You love me."

I choked on my next breath, and stared at him with perplexity in my eyes. Yet, he gazed at me with the most gentle and desirable expression.

"And I love you, Max," Fang silently whispered, "more than you'll ever know."

Then, he moved closer to me, his face just inches away from mine now. The seconds ticked by so slowly, as I waited for him to make a move, but he didn't. What did he want from me? Why was he doing this to me? He was torturing me with the silence and with the way he was acting. It was like he was about to leap on top of me and start kissing me, but he held everything back. Fang blinked slowly, making only enough movement so I could see into his eyes clearly. I think that's what did me in. There was just so much emotion in his eyes and so much in me that I needed to find answers to, so what I did next really wasn't entirely my fault, but was mostly.

When he dipped his head just a little bit closer to me, I took my chance and met him in the middle. He didn't seem surprised at all when I rested my forehead against his.

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

I smiled pleasantly, giving in, and mumbled, "Yes."

He held my hand and together we jumped off of the face of the building, falling some fifty feet before pulling up high into the night sky. We flew until we were closer to home, where there was plenty of open space. By now, we were several thousand feet in the air. My heart soared higher than I did. Flying always made me feel lighter.

We climbed even higher into the sky before I stopped and hovered in one place. Fang looked at me with curiosity. I looked up toward the moon, down toward the ground, and then back at him and smiled. He got the idea and drifted over to me. Facing each other, we shot up several hundred feet. Then we both arced in opposite directions, now flying straight down. Before picking up speed from the free fall, we came together, and he took my hands in his.

Falling at a hundred and some miles an hour is scary exhilarating. Falling at a hundred and some miles an hour while you're holding onto someone else, sharing space, and completely trusting the other is dreamy exhilarating.

I'd never done this before or even thought about it, willingly falling with anyone, especially with Fang, but the only thing I regret is not doing it sooner. There was such little space in between us as we went down in a death spiral with our wings streamlined behind us. Right now, less space was better. He touched his nose to mine, and I tilted my head up, blindly trying to find his lips.

And then I kissed him.

Fang responded to me instantly, pulling me even closer to him until there was zero space in between us. He angled his head in a different way, making the kiss even deeper. I was forgetting how to breathe, and at that point, breathing wasn't as important to me as it should have been. All I wanted was him. I didn't want to stop. If I could freeze time, now would be the perfect time to do it.

Of course, since we were falling to our deaths, we had to break apart eventually. With just two hundred feet to spare, we separated, opening up our wings so we could land safely right on top of the roof of our house. We crept in through my window and tip toed across the hall to check on the kids. They were all asleep. Fang went into the kitchen for a glass of water, and I followed him in.

"Goodnight," I whispered into his ear, and then placed a small kiss on his cheek before leaving for my bedroom.

When I finally got to lie down on my bed, I stared up at the ceiling, thinking. Wow. What a night. But, what would happen tomorrow, or the next day? Would we just act like nothing happened between us tonight, or would things get worse? I never wanted to fight with Fang again, but if we did, where would that leave us? Would he leave me if thinks got too personal? What if he did leave? What if I had to leave? What if, because of our relationship, it tore the flock apart? What if―

Fang opened my bedroom door and stood there, arms folded casually across his chest, in my door way. "Goodnight, Max," he said. I couldn't tell from his tone what he was feeling. Was he thinking about what we were doing outside? Was he thinking about me? Was he regretting that he kissed me? Would loving him to be too hard?

"Max?" Fang called tenderly

"Yes?"

There was a brief silence. "Do you," he began, but paused.

"Do I what, Fang?" Please, please, be something good! Please!

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

"Of course," I answered.

"Do you want me to stay?"

"Yes," I said cautiously.

"Do you love me?"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. This was the moment of truth. Did I love him, or did I not? "Yes," I finally whispered, "yes, I do. More than you'll ever know."

"Do you want anything? Anything at all?" he asked suggestively.

"No, all I don't want anything, but," I paused, gaining the courage I needed to say what I wanted to say, "I need you."

Fang took a step forward, and then quietly shut the door behind him. He took a few more steps toward me, but stopped half way through my room. I got off of my bed, walking over to him, and for a minute, we just gazed at each other.

"Max," he whispered tenderly. He slid his hands down from my neck to my shoulders. Fang moved one of his hands down my side until it rested on my waist. I rested my head on his chest and took a few deep breaths. His strong arms picked me up and carried me over to my bed, where he gently laid me down.

I looked up at him standing beside me where I lay, wondering what he was going to do. He kneeled down next to me, placing a hand on the side of my face and kissed me again. There were no words that could express what either of us was feeling, but that one kiss explained it all. As his fingers trailed against the exposed skin from where my shirt was torn, I knew I could answer one of the million questions I had.

Loving him wouldn't be hard at all.

* * *

**And that's it, folks! The Strongest Emotion is complete!**

**I know, I left the ending pretty suggestive, so just let what happens next be made up in your own minds. Mm'kay?**

**Okay, just to let y'all know, I absolutely loved, loved, loved (whoa..Nudge much? xD) wirting this story. At first, I had no idea where I was going to go with it. All I knew was that there was a fight, some Voice chats, and the make up. Originally, there were only going to be two or three chapters, but there was too much detail I wanted to add...so four chapters was what it turned out to be! hehe**

**So, hopefully, this ended the way you guys liked. Well, I gotta split. Other fics to think about, other stories to write. I do more than fan fiction, ya know. ;D **

**Thanks to everyone who replied in the past and a thanks to everyone who will hopefully reply in the future! I really enjoyed writing this story, and I hope you enjoyed reading it.**

**Once again, thank you for reading, and now you all know what the** _**Strongest Emotion**_ **is.**

**- Saz**


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